Metallic paint, the option that often isn't

Extra sparkle in the pigment rivals the so-called "delivery charge" as the biggest submerged cost in new car prices. Tim Colquhoun lifts the lid on premium colours.

03 July 2003Tim Colquhoun

Standard and metallic paints cost almost the same to produce yet buyers pay thousands of dollars extra for the shimmer on their new cars' panels. A Drive survey has found some makes have very few non-metallic paints as standard, inflating the cost of the average car.

Volkswagen, for example, advertises the Passat sedan at $49,990 yet the only models at that price are white or red. A buyer who picks one of the other six colours pays an extra $935.

Volkswagen spokesman Brad Leach said he had "no idea" why the company charged more for metallic paint. The additional charge reflected the invoice price charged to Australian dealers by VW in Germany.

DuPont, one of the world's biggest suppliers of automotive paint, says between 70 and 75 percent of all new cars have metallic paint, or "pearl" which uses mica flakes rather than aluminium to give more apparent depth.

Some car makers justify the extra cost as reflecting the techniques used to apply and protect metallic finishes, but the sums asked vary enormously.

The newly released Mitsubishi Magna TL comes only in red or white at the list price of $34,790. The 10 metallic or pearl colour options add a more modest $210 to the price, however.

Drive's survey found Porsche charges the highest premium for metallic paint: a whopping $2590 on the $108,500 Boxster.

Mercedes charges only marginally less than Porsche for metallic paint on the much cheaper C180 Kompressor, whose $53,400 applies to three standard colours. Buyers must add $2390 for one of the 10 metallic options.

This compares with a loading of just $200 on the cheapest Daihatsu, the new Charade.

Lexus bucks the trend and does not have an additional charge for metallic paint on any of its models ? and this includes the Passat and C180 rival, the $51,490 IS200.

A spokesman for DuPont, Tony Skallias, declined to comment on the wholesale prices of automotive paints but said labour costs, the number of coats and the cost of pigments could explain the car brands' differing prices.

"Generally speaking all paints are applied in the same manner," he said, with car makers favouring electrostatic spray methods.

Edward Rowe, spokesman for Ateco (importer of Alfa Romeo, Citroen and Kia), says that "even if metallic paint did cost the same [as standard paint], there are other costs that have to be considered. Some lighter colours require more coats or a different undercoat such as white rather than the standard grey and metallics often require a protective gel coating."

Darren Kenney, owner of Kenney's Automotive Paints in Carramar, says that there is little justification for car makers charging a premium for metallic paint.

"It's a bit of a rip-off really," he says. "The only difference between standard and metallic paint is that metal flakes are added to the tinter in metallic paint."

Kenney says that adding flakes does not add to the price. "All metallic and standard paints cost the same per litre. The only exception is white, which is a bit cheaper."

Arguing that paint is of higher quality or harder to apply "doesn't really stand up", he says. "The quality won't be different across brands."

Ateco's Rowe believes dealers are justified in charging a premium for metallic paints, and argues it is an important investment for new car buyers. "If you choose the wrong colour you can wipe $10,000 off the resale value."